Kwak Yeon-soo is a digital editor at The Korea Times creating, editing and curating digital content for the newspaper’s website, mobile app and social media. She previously covered a diverse array of cultural, political and business topics.
World loves K-food — just not these dishes
Yeot (traditional rice taffy) / gettyimagesbank
By Kwak Yeon-soo
From gimbap (seaweed rice rolls) to tteokbokki (spicy simmered rice cakes), Korean food has taken the world by storm — boosted in part by the global popularity of “KPop Demon Hunters.” While some dishes are finding international appeal, others are being listed among the world’s “worst,” underscoring a divide in how Korean food is viewed abroad.
Online travel guide platform TasteAtlas recently unveiled its list of the 100 worst-rated foods in the world, based on more than 450,000 user ratings from around the globe.
Hongeo, left, served with steamed pork belly and kimchi / Korea Times file
Hongeo, or fermented skate, arguably the smelliest food in Korea, ranked 51st with a score of 2.7 out of 5. Despite its powerful ammonia scent, the dish is appreciated for its chewy texture and distinct flavor. It is traditionally served with steamed pork belly and kimchi, a combination that is called samhap, and it is commonly washed down with alcoholic beverages such as soju (a distilled Korean spirit) or makgeolli (an unfiltered rice alcohol).
Kongnamulbap (soybean sprout rice) / gettyimagesbank
More unexpectedly, kongnamulbap (soybean sprout rice) and dubujeon (pan-fried tofu patties) — both considered comforting homestyle dishes in Korea — placed 81 and 84, respectively.
Dubujeon (tofu patties) / gettyimagesbank
Yeot, a kind of Korean taffy, was ranked 68 on the list, making it one of the worst-rated desserts with just 2.5 points out of 5.
The top spot on the list went to Iceland’s svið, a boiled and salted head of mutton, which scored a 1.9 out of 5, followed by thorramatur, a selection of traditional Icelandic cured fish and meat served with rye bread, at 2 points. Coming in third was truchas a la navarra, a Spanish dish of fresh trout lightly fried and stuffed with Serrano ham at 2points.
TasteAtlas ranked Seoul as the 70th best food city in the world for 2026 out of 18,828 cities in its database.